The present invention relates to improved decals for application to skin to simulate a true tattoo and to a process for making the same.
Decals for application to the skin have been made by a silk screen process in which color is deposited in a selected design on the slip layer of decal paper by wiping the color through the pores of a mesh cloth. A separate hand operation is required for deposition of each color and it has not been possible to insure the desired degree of register accuracy particularly becaus of the give and stretch of the screen.
In addition to the slowness and expense of the silk screen process, the decals so produced have necessarily been artificial in appearance, particularly when secured to a skin surface. This is an unavoidable result of the thickness of the color layer, which is determined by the thickness of the screen through which the color is deposited. This deposit is incapable of the fine detail, tone gradation and other nuances of original art, i.e., a tattooed skin. Additionally, the thick color deposit tends to crack when subjected to flexing and stretching on skin.
Attempts to print decals on a lithograph offset press have heretofor been unsuccessful. Water soluble material from the slip layer of the decal paper has clogged the press dampening system and caused the soluble material to adhere to the blanket roller and consequently to disrupt the printed design. Additionally, this procedure required extensive and time consuming clean-up as well as damage to the press which might require replacement of the roller.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved decal for securing an extremely thin, flexible and extensible design element closely simulating an actual tatoo when applied to the skin of a user.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple inexpensive process for making the decal including an offset printing step in which difficulties caused by water soluble material from the slip layer of the decal paper are avoided.